Tinseltown Talks: At 75, Jacqueline Bisset still enchants on the big screen

By Nick ThomasMore Content Now

Friday

Sep 13, 2019 at 12:06 PM

It’s been a busy past 12 months for Jacqueline Bisset. The actress appeared in several new films and also celebrated the anniversary of the 1968 Steve McQueen classic crime drama “Bullitt” released 50 years ago last October.

Bisset traveled to Germany for a role in Warner’s “Honey in the Head,” an English remake of the successful 2014 German film “Head Full of Honey.” Also starring Nick Nolte and Matt Dillon, the film’s Alzheimer’s theme was personal for Bisset.

“My mother got dementia in her early 50s and lived with it for 35 years, so it’s something I knew a lot about,” explained Bisset who turns 75 on Sept. 13. “The film approaches the subject with a little humor because that can sometimes help families dealing with it. It’s painful humor but can make it more bearable.”

The film also reunites Bisset with Nolte, the pair having starred as treasure-hunters in the 1977 underwater feature, “The Deep.”

“It was nice to see Nick again, although I worked with him (in 2017) in an episode of his TV show ‘Graves,’” she said.

The film is noted for its stunning underwater sequences, not to mention Bisset’s memorable wet T-shirt scenes. But the actress still has mixed feelings more than 40 years later when she speaks of the aquatic adventure.

“As a child, some stupid kids tried to dunk me and ever since I’ve been fearful of the water and swimming around others,” she recalled. “But the diving crew on ‘The Deep’ were amazing and I found it a beautiful experience, even though the thought of drowning was still a daily worry. I had a stunt double for some underwater shots but she looked nothing like me, so it meant I attempted more stunts that I would have liked. When you’re 90 feet underwater you have to solve any problem right there — you can’t just shoot to the surface.”

In one scene, her character tries to do precisely that after encountering a moray eel (her stunt double did the eel sequence) and it remains especially memorable.

“It was complicated to film and very frightening. I actually thought I was going to drown. The others didn’t know if I was acting or in real trouble, which I was. I got through it, but even as I speak of it now, my throat tightens!”

Also memorable was co-star Robert Shaw. “He was a character but adorable, too — naughty, playful, very bright, and cracked me up with his humor. We were almost like little children playing.”

Her memories of working with Steve McQueen on “Bullitt” a decade before, early in her film career, are also fond ones.

“Steve was a major star at the time but very patient with me and we would go out for meals with the director and producer when we’d break for lunch,” she said. “But he didn’t like getting caught in crowds and would often just jump on his bike and get the hell out of there.”

Although she didn’t appear in any of the film’s action sequences, Bisset was on set to witness some of the legendary driving scenes often performed by McQueen, a keen race car enthusiast.

“Watching those cars jumping in the air on the streets of San Francisco was amazing,” she said. “There were also some scenes where I had to drive Steve around in a yellow convertible and remember thinking God almighty, I don’t want to mess this up with a race car driver next to me!”

Bisset’s other recent film releases include “Asher” shot in New York with Ron Perlman, and “Here and Now” with Sarah Jessica Parker and Renée Zellweger.

“I didn’t have any scenes with Renée but Sarah was lovely to work with, very charming and welcoming with a very strong work ethic,” said Bisset, who was also in Venice for the premiere of “Magic Lantern.”

“That’s a beautiful little film by Iranian director Amir Naderi which we shot back in LA,” she said. “So I’ve been traveling quite a bit.”

Throughout her career, Bisset worked with numerous prominent actors. Now that she’s considered Hollywood royalty, are young filmmakers in awe of her?

"I hate the idea of being treated like that,” she says. “I just like to bring what I’ve learned over the years to a project and feel the same age as everyone else I’m working with.”

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